The Death of Internet Radio

The last ounce of hope for preventing new webcasting royalty rates from crippling internet radio on July 15 has been dashed by the U.S. Court of Appeals. NPR's request for a stay on the new rates was just denied.

This means that many webcasters, small and large, will go out of business, and non-commercial webcasters like WFMU may have to cap online listenership. The situation is dire, and it seems as though our only hope is to convince Congress to pass the Internet Radio Equality Act (even if they pass it after July 15). If you haven't already, please contact your Senators and Representatives. Visit savenetradio.org for more info.
http://www.savenetradio.org/

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Again, this pertains to the US only for now.........

Comments: 11

Stacey "Yeah, I Said It" H. Jul 12, 2007, 3:42pm EDT

Great, just when I was thinking of starting my own station.... this smacks of corporate oppression and denying me the ability to express my individuality via the internet. Raising the royalty rate will make this out of my reach and I can't compete.

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Walker Bennett, SF Author Jul 12, 2007, 6:16pm EDT

Fortunately, most of the streaming stations I listen to are from outside the U.S. (BBC World, AM740, and 102.ru). The fees that are to go into effect are over double what a broadcast station pays.

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Leah Christensen Jul 12, 2007, 6:21pm EDT

Thank you Wlaker! How does this affect stations in Canada? How about the BBC World Service?

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Walker Bennett, SF Author Jul 12, 2007, 6:27pm EDT

This shouldn't...yet. It's only being imposed on behalf of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).

Other countries have their own flavor of those robbers, so it's only a matter of time.

What's going to be interesting is watching the RIAA try to go after foreign broadcasters that play American music.

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Leah Christensen Jul 12, 2007, 9:54pm EDT

Walker, that ought to be interesting. IN Canada we're supposed to have 35% Can Con (Canadian Content) but for AM 740 it's only 30% because of the era of music they play. Did you post this to the AM 740 radiogroup?

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Walker Bennett, SF Author Jul 13, 2007, 10:23am EDT

Brian already posted this on AM740. On the Wired magazine site, there was a last minute meeting in Congress and it looks like the fees are going to be put off...for now.

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